Frontline to the Picket Line: Striking Nurses and the NHS Crisis

The UK has seen significant levels of industrial action taken by many public sector trades union over the past 18 months. Just three years after the COVID-19 pandemic led to an outpouring of public support for the NHS, major strike action has been taken by nursing staff across the UK to fight for better pay and patient safety. In her keynote address to the IIEA, Director of Nursing of the Royal College of Nursing, Nicola Ranger, discusses the current challenges faced by nursing staff in both the NHS and independent health care settings, and the role of the RCN in influencing political change in the UK. About the Speaker: Professor Nicola Ranger joined the RCN in December 2022. She was previously Chief Nurse and Executive Director of Midwifery at King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in London. Before that, she held Chief Nurse posts at both Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust and Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust. She has also held a number of senior nursing roles at University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust. Earlier in her career, she worked at America’s George Washington University Hospital in Washington and at Mount Sinai Medical Centre in New York.